Cast Announced For Stage Drama Twisted Roots

Thursday, June 12, 2014

Trish Wileman, director, announced the cast of Twisted Roots, an Appalachian-themed production inspired by the life of Emma Bell Miles. The cast will include Peggy Douglas, Scarlet Farr, Annie Harp, Tammy Lewis, Delonda Mangione, and Marcy Paulson. Musicians for the production will include Joe Ridolfo, Robert Cyphers, and Tom Brown.

Conceived by author and poet Peggy Douglas, Twisted Roots is set in early 20th century Appalachia was inspired by the life of Emma Bell Miles. Peggy Douglas has a PhD in Environmental Economics and has been a college professor for 30 years. An award-winning writer, her work has appeared in the Kakalak Anthology of Carolina Poets, Bleeding Heart Anthology, the University of Maine’s Binnacle Poetry Journal, Maypop, The Tennessee Writers Alliance Journal, and Glass as well as other numerous publications and magazines.

The two-act drama will be directed by Trish Wileman. Ms. Wileman has enjoyed a colorful palate of experiences in the arts world. A veteran performer, her directing credits include Arsenic & Old Lace, Tevya & His Daughters, The Music Man, and a five year stint as the Director of Destiny in Dayton - a reenactment of the Scopes Trial taken from the trial transcript and performed in the actual Dayton, TN courthouse. In 2012, Trish was honored to serve as the director of Jim Pfitzer’s one-man show, Aldo Leopold: A Standard of Change, currently on tour across the US. In April 2013 she directed the opera The Robin Woman: Shanewis for Artisti Affamati at Chattanooga's Spark Festival and directed the film version of Samuel Barber's A Hand of Bridge for A2. She has worked in opera production and arts management for the Chattanooga Symphony & Opera, Opera America, and the Sarasota Opera, and is currently assistant director of Music at Signal Mountain Presbyterian.

Twisted Roots is scheduled for Aug. 1, 2, and 3, at the historic Mountain Arts Community Center. The MACC is at 809 Kentucky Ave., Signal Mountain, Tn. 37377.

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